SANTA FE, NM – Sept. 2, 2022 – Districts on the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) and Carson National Forest most impacted by the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire are issuing free personal-use fuelwood permits for up to five cords of dead and down timber.

SFNF free-use permits will be valid for collecting firewood on the Pecos/Las Vegas District outside the current fire closure. Permit holders will receive load tags, a fuelwood cutting map and guidelines for harvesting the wood.

“Wood from these mountains has been sustaining a traditional way of life in Northern New Mexico for centuries. We understand how important this resource is to our communities,” acting SFNF Supervisor James Duran said. “We are doing everything we can to help the communities impacted by the fire prepare for the coming winter.”

SFNF free-use permits can be obtained at:

·         Las Vegas Ranger Station – 1926 N. 7th Street, Las Vegas NM – 505-425-3534

·         Pecos Ranger Station – 32 S. Main Street, Pecos, NM – 505-757-6121

·         Supervisor’s Office – 11 Forest Lane, Santa Fe, NM – 505-438-5300

Free-use permits valid for the Carson National Forest are also available at the Carson Supervisor’s Office in Taos and the Camino Real and Questa Ranger Stations. The free-use permits are a separate program from the fuelwood distribution sites that will be managing the logs from fuelbreaks implemented during fire suppression. Once the distribution plan is finalized, the forests will issue a separate news release.

The free-use permits are good for up to five cords and can be used in conjunction with the $20 permits that allow permit holders to collect up to 10 cords. Both permits expire on Dec. 31, 2022. The free-use permits are only valid on the Pecos/Las Vegas District. All other districts on the SFNF require a paid permit. Fuelwood load tags must be attached to each quarter of cord or less of firewood, punched or marked correctly, and visible from the vehicle's rear before transport.

Permit holders should be prepared for unpredictable weather and are advised to check with the local Ranger District office (Santa Fe, Carson) or the New Mexico Department of Transportation website for current road and weather conditions. As a reminder, only travel on roads designated open on the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) (Santa Fe, Carson) unless the permit specifies otherwise or is within a closure area. MVUMs are available for download and paper maps are free at all Forest Service Offices.

Firewood permit holders should also ensure they have the appropriate equipment to harvest and safely transport the wood home. Forest Service staff may be in the cutting areas to check permits and answer questions.

TAOS, NM – Sept. 2, 2022 – Districts on the Carson and Santa Fe national forests most impacted by the Calf Canyon Fire are now issuing free personal-use fuelwood permits for up to five cords of dead and down timber.

Carson free-use permits will be valid for collecting firewood on the Camino Real and Questa ranger districts outside the current fire closure. Permit holders will receive load tags, a fuelwood cutting map and guidelines for harvesting the wood.

“Wood from these mountains has been sustaining a traditional way of life in Northern New Mexico for centuries. We understand how important this resource is to our communities,” Forest Supervisor

James Duran said. “We are doing everything we can to help the communities impacted by the fire

prepare for the coming winter.”

Carson National Forest free-use permits can be obtained at:

·         Camino Real Ranger Station – 15160 State Road 75, Penasco, NM 87553 – (575) 587-2255

·         Questa Ranger Station – 184 State Hwy 38, Questa, NM 87556 – (575) 586-0520

·         Supervisor’s Office – 208 Cruz Alta Road, Taos, NM 87571 – (575) 758-6200

Free-use permits valid for the Santa Fe National Forest are also available at the Santa Fe Supervisor’s Office in Santa Fe and the Pecos and Las Vegas ranger stations. The free-use permits are a separate program from the fuelwood distribution sites that will be managing the logs from fuelbreaks implemented during fire suppression. Once the distribution plan is finalized, the forests will issue a separate news release.

The free-use permits are good for up to five cords and can be used in conjunction with the $20 permits that allow permit holders to collect up to 10 cords. Both permits expire on Dec. 31, 2022. The free-use permits are only valid on the Camino Real and Questa ranger districts. All other districts on the Carson National Forest require a paid permit. Fuelwood load tags must be attached to each quarter of cord or less of firewood, punched or marked correctly, and visible from the vehicle's rear before transport.

Permit holders should be prepared for unpredictable weather and are advised to check with the local Ranger District office (Santa Fe, Carson) or the New Mexico Department of Transportation website for current road and weather conditions. As a reminder, only travel on roads designated open on the

Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) (Carson, Santa Fe) unless the permit specifies otherwise or is within a closure area. MVUMs are available for download and paper maps are free at all Forest Service Offices.

Firewood permit holders should also ensure they have the appropriate equipment to harvest and safely transport the wood home. Forest Service staff may be in the cutting areas to check permits and answer questions.

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 SANTA FE, NM – Sept. 2, 2022 – The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) today reduced the size of the temporary area and road closure for the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire, reopening an additional 214,000 acres that were closed to public access under the previous closure order. The reopened areas include the Pecos Canyon corridor and the Pecos Wilderness west of Skyline Trail 251.

Highlights: On August 30, the US Forest Service and Mora County hosted a community meeting in Mora with over 150 members of the public and representatives from more than 10 different agencies. Community members were able to ask questions and voice concerns about wildfire and flooding impacts related to the burned area. Agency representatives presented information about available services such as debris removal, covering uninsured or underinsured losses, emergency watershed protection including aerial seeding and point protection, agricultural lands impacted by flooding, and hazardous tree removal.

Operations: The Incident Management Team continues to manage the implementation of suppression repair efforts such as fixing culverts, roads, and fences along with mulching dozer and hand lines. On the southern section of the fire area, suppression repair needs are nearing completion. Crews are making significant progress hauling logs from the northern area thanks to their efficient and dedicated work, along with continued cooperation and communication with the local communities. Within this northern section, fire crews have been extracting, loading, and hauling logs to multiple collection sites. Over the next several months, these logs will be re-distributed to other community distribution sites around the fire area. Air curtain burners have proven useful for incinerating smaller slash and other debris left over from suppression activities.  

Closures: On August 9, the Santa Fe National Forest reduced the fire closure area, opening additional access to the Pecos Wilderness. To view the closure order and map, please visit Santa Fe - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov). Due to the progress of suppression repair, more areas in the Camino Real Ranger District on the Carson National Forest were reopened on August 24. To view the new closure order and map, please visit Carson National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov). More areas will reopen over time as suppression repair is completed and areas become safe to reenter. Areas directly burned by the fire or at continued risk from flash flooding may stay closed longer for firefighter and public safety. Short-term closures in reopened areas may still occur from time to time. As hunting season begins, details and maps for newly reopened areas will continue to be updated on the Santa Fe and Carson Forest Alerts & Notices webpages and forest social media.

Weather: A high pressure system located to the north and northwest will produce daily isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms each afternoon into the weekend. Widespread storms that have been active in the area will now move into southeastern New Mexico. The risk for flash flooding will remain each afternoon, along with risk of increased lightning activity.

Fire Flooding and Recovery Resources: 2022 Wildland Fires Resources Hotline: https://www.nmdhsem.org/2022- wildfires/ | After Wildfire New Mexico Guide:  https://www.afterwildfirenm.org/ | Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires Burned Area Emergency Response: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8104/  

For questions or concerns related to flooding, please call the New Mexico State Emergency Operations Center at 1-800-432-2080. For federal disaster with fire or flood damage to your primary residence, please call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

Private Land Suppression Repair Survey (English and Spanish): https://www.tinyurl.com/suppressionrepair. Call 720-417-8048 for assistance in English, or 505-398-3889 for assistance in Spanish.

Fire Information: Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Phone: 505-356-2636| Email: 2022.hermitspeak@firenet.gov

TAOS, NM – August 27, 2022 – The Santa Fe and Carson national forests, along with the Interagency Management Team assigned to the Calf Canyon Fire, are working to find solutions to continually reopen areas of the forests as suppression repair work is completed and weather patterns change over the burn area. A third reduction just took place on the Carson National Forest last week with another one anticipated possibly for this week.
 "I want to acknowledge that we are in a difficult and unique time where fire-related closures remain in place as archery hunting season begins for deer and elk on Thursday," said Carson National Forest Supervisor James Duran, who is also the acting forest supervisor on the Santa Fe National Forest.
 "Hunting is a very important tradition and activity, and I am continuing to ask staff to reassess all opportunities to reopen more areas as suppression repairs are completed and when flash flooding and debris flow threats have decreased,” Duran continued. “However, due the fire’s severity, some areas will likely remain closed for a longer duration, and some of the damaged infrastructure, such as trails and roads, could prevent full access, even as areas are opened up."
 Many areas within Game Management Units 45 and 49 are open. Details and maps can be found online (Carson, Santa Fe). Visitors should stay up to date with each Forest's webpage and social media for announcements of newly reopened areas.
 The 341,735-acre Calf Canyon Fire is 100% contained but has not been controlled or declared out. 516 personnel are currently assigned to the incident.

Mora County, in partnership with the United States Forest Service, is hosting a community meeting on Tuesday, August 30, at 6:00PM at the Mora High School Auditorium, 10 Ranger Road, in Mora, New Mexico. The purpose of this meeting is to provide members of the community with an update on the recent, ongoing, and future activities related to fire suppression repair and incident recovery for the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires. This meeting will also provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions and share concerns with agency representatives. 

Presenters will include Mora County, the United States Forest Service (USDA), Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4, the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Western Soil and Water Conservation District, Representatives from New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Nature Resource Conservation Service, and Mora-San Miguel Electric Coop will also be in attendance and available to answer questions.

Additional meetings in other affected communities will be announced in the near future. 

Highlights: Repairs are nearing completion on the southern end of the fire area. Continued cooperation from the public has helped the firefighters complete their repair work with maximum efficiency and safety. Incoming favorable weather into next week is expected to provide better conditions to increase the pace of repair activities.

Operations: Although the Calf Canyon Fire is now 100% contained, suppression repair remains an ongoing activity with 521 personnel assigned to the incident. In the northern section of the fire area, firefighters are conducting assessments on roads and identifying culverts in need of repair. Despite large amounts of rain in these areas, chipping and fence repair efforts continue in areas deemed safe from flooding. In the northwest section, firefighters expect log extraction to begin once weather conditions permit. Wood will be distributed to communities around the fire or otherwise made available to the public over the next couple of months. Firefighters are using self-contained incinerators called “air curtain burners” to remove slash and other debris left over from suppression activities. These machines are an important tool used to safely incinerate large amounts of woody debris at once, increasing the efficiency of repair efforts. Crews are completing road improvements using heavy equipment and gravel in high traffic areas needed to support critical repair work.

Closures: On August 9, the Santa Fe National Forest reduced the fire closure area, opening additional access to the Pecos Wilderness. To view the closure order and map, please visit Santa Fe - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov). Due to the progress of suppression repair, more areas in the Camino Real Ranger District on the Carson National Forest were reopened on August 24. To view the new closure order and map, please visit Carson National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov). More areas will reopen over time as suppression repair is completed and areas become safe to reenter. Areas directly burned by the fire or at continued risk from flash flooding may stay closed longer for firefighter and public safety. Short-term closures in reopened areas may still occur from time to time. Monsoon weather, firefighter and public safety, and completion of suppression repair activities all play a part in the decision to revise or lift closure orders.

Weather: Coverage of storms will become more isolated Wednesday and Thursday, before increased storm activity arrives on Friday and Saturday from a passing weather disturbance. The risk for flash flooding will remain each afternoon, with Friday seeing the highest risk. Once the weather disturbance passes, there will be a drying trend with less storm coverage into the early and middle portion of next week.

Fire Flooding and Recovery Resources: 2022 Wildland Fires Resources Hotline: https://www.nmdhsem.org/2022- wildfires/ | After Wildfire New Mexico Guide:  https://www.afterwildfirenm.org/ | Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires Burned Area Emergency Response: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8104/  

For questions or concerns related to flooding, please call the New Mexico State Emergency Operations Center at 1-800-432-2080. For federal disaster with fire or flood damage to your primary residence, please call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

Private Land Suppression Repair Survey (English and Spanish): https://www.tinyurl.com/suppressionrepair. Call 720-417-8048 for assistance in English, or 505-398-3889 for assistance in Spanish.

Fire Information: Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Phone: 505-356-2636| Email: 2022.hermitspeak@firenet.gov

Online Fire Information Resources: https://www.inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8069/ | https://www.facebook.com/santafeNF/ | nmfireinfo.com |Santa Fe National Forest Twitter | tinyurl.com/HermitsYouTube | Santa Fe National Forest | Carson National Forest

 TAOS, NM – August 23, 2022 – As fire crews continue to complete suppression repair and address contingency lines related to the Calf Canyon Fire, more areas in the Camino Real Ranger District will reopen at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, August 24.
 
 “Crews have been working hard to complete tasks and get these areas back open for the public,” said Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor Andrea Jones. “And that effort will continue until everything we can safely reopen does.”
 
Even with the Calf Canyon Fire at 100% containment, suppression repair remains as an ongoing activity with 470 personnel assigned to the incident. A closure order will remain in place to protect public health and safety during suppression repair and in the event of potential post-fire impacts, including debris flows and flash flooding. Visitors should maintain situational awareness at all times, especially during the monsoon season when sudden thunderstorms and lightning bring added risk to outdoor activities.
 
Roads and trails to reopen include Rio Chiquito Road (437) to all traffic, a portion of Rancho de Rio Grande Trail (18), Pot Creek Interpretive Trail (2), Forest Roads 439 and 442, U.S. Hill, Amole Canyon and a portion of the Elliott Barker Trail (1). Forest Road 440 will also reopen, but access will not be available through Forest Road 438, which will remain closed at this time.
 
The Forest Order, map and a full list of what roads and trails are open on the Camino Real Ranger District is available online,https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/carson/alerts-notices/?aid=73828. 

More areas will reopen over time as suppression repair is completed and safe to reenter. Areas directly burned by the fire or at continued risk from flash flooding may stay closed longer for safety. Short-term closures in reopened areas may still occur from time to time.

TAOS, NM – Sept. 14, 2022 – The Type 2 Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 will transfer management of the Calf Canyon-Hermits Peak Fire to a Type 3 Incident Management Team on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 6:00 p.m. Downsizing from a Type 2 organization to a Type 3 is a result of the work accomplished by several incident management teams over the course of this incident. 

This will be the final update unless something significant occurs on this incident.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: There is an Open House for residents impacted by the Calf Canyon-Hermits Peak Fire tomorrow, Sept. 15, at the Abe Montoya Recreation Center (1751 N. Grand Ave., Las Vegas, NM) from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Representatives from various local, state, and federal agencies will be available to provide information about available assistance. There will not be a public meeting associated with the open house.

Operations: Although the burn area received rain this past week, crews continued to make excellent progress with fire suppression repair operations on private lands, dozer lines, roads, and culverts. Crews completed the timber salvage removal and are now repairing dozer lines and rehabilitating roads impacted by those operations.

Private landowners can continue to submit requests for fire suppression repair work by calling 720-417-8048.

Closures and Restrictions: Additional areas of the Camino Real Ranger District on the Carson National Forest are scheduled to reopen on Sept. 14. Current closure and restriction information is available on the Santa Fe - Alerts & Notices page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/santafe/alerts-notices) and Carson National Forest - Alerts & Notices page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/carson/alerts-notices). Both forests continue assessing conditions looking for opportunities to reduce the closure areas as soon as possible while keeping public and firefighter safety as the highest priority. As hunting season begins, details and maps for newly reopened areas will continue to be updated on the Santa Fe and Carson Forest Alerts & Notices webpages and social media.

Weather: The area will begin experiencing a warming and drying trend this week through the weekend, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

Fire Flooding and Recovery Resources: 2022 Wildland Fires Resources Hotline: https://www.nmdhsem.org/2022- wildfires/ | After Wildfire New Mexico Guide: https://www.afterwildfirenm.org/ | Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires Burned Area Emergency Response: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8104/

For questions or concerns related to flooding, please call the New Mexico State Emergency Operations Center at 1-800- 432-2080. For federal disaster with fire or flood damage to your primary residence, please call the FEMA Helpline at 1- 800-621-3362.

Fire Information: Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Phone: 505-356-2636| Email: 2022.hermitspeak@firenet.gov

Online Fire Information Resources: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8069/ | https://www.facebook.com/santafeNF/| nmfireinfo.com |Santa Fe National Forest Twitter (https://t.co/JiGpZ1sovK) | tinyurl.com/HermitsYouTube | Santa Fe National Forest (https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/santafe/home) | Carson National Forest (https://www.fs.usda.gov/carson)